OK, I'm ready to be ripped to shreds, so I'm going to comment on the world team debate.

How about something like this?

1.If there is one spot available for worlds, then the spot for the United States will go to the winner of Nationals.

2.If there are two spots available for worlds, then the first spot will go to the winner of Nationals and the second spot will go the American that did the best* in the Grand Prix. If the winner of Nationals and the person that did the best in the Grand Prix are the same, then the second spot will go to the silver medalist at Nationals.

3. If there are three spots available for worlds, then the first spot will go to the winner of Nationals, the second spot will go to the American that did the best in the Grand Prix, and the third spot will go to the silver medalist at the US Nationals. If the winner of Nationals and the person that did the best in the Grand Prix are the same, then the second spot will go to the silver medalist at Nationals, and the third spot will go to the bronze medalist at Nationals.

[*Best will be defined as the American that placed the highest in the Grand Prix Final or, if no American qualified for the Grand Prix final, the person that was ranked the highest according to the ISU and its rules on points, tiebreakers, etc., in qualifying events.]

This would keep the idea that the the winner of Nationals should always go to Worlds, but would also provide a little bit of protection for the US in the uncommon situation where the US has two or three spots, yet the person with the highest Grand Prix finish has an uncharacteristically bad time at Nationals and doesn't end up in the top two or three.

[And just to be clear... Since it has been tradition to go 1,2,3 for worlds, I strongly support Miner being on the world team and think he earned his spot. This is about the future, not changing common understanding in the middle of the game, which I think is incredibly unfair and sends a bad message to the skaters.]

OK, I'm ready to be ripped to shreds, so I'm going to comment on the world team debate.

How about something like this?

1.If there is one spot available for worlds, then the spot for the United States will go to the winner of Nationals.

2.If there are two spots available for worlds, then the first spot will go to the winner of Nationals and the second spot will go the American that did the best* in the Grand Prix. If the winner of Nationals and the person that did the best in the Grand Prix are the same, then the second spot will go to the silver medalist at Nationals.

3. If there are three spots available for worlds, then the first spot will go to the winner of Nationals, the second spot will go to the American that did the best in the Grand Prix, and the third spot will go to the silver medalist at the US Nationals. If the winner of Nationals and the person that did the best in the Grand Prix are the same, then the second spot will go to the silver medalist at Nationals, and the third spot will go to the bronze medalist at Nationals.

[*Best will be defined as the American that placed the highest in the Grand Prix Final or, if no American qualified for the Grand Prix final, the person that was ranked the highest according to the ISU and its rules on points, tiebreakers, etc., in qualifying events.]

This would keep the idea that the the winner of Nationals should always go to Worlds, but would also provide a little bit of protection for the US in the uncommon situation where the US has two or three spots, yet the person with the highest Grand Prix finish has an uncharacteristically bad time at Nationals and doesn't end up in the top two or three.

[And just to be clear... Since it has been tradition to go 1,2,3 for worlds, I strongly support Miner being on the world team and think he earned his spot. This is about the future, not changing common understanding in the middle of the game, which I think is incredibly unfair and sends a bad message to the skaters.]

Great suggestion, I'm actually going to start a new thread on this on The Edge so we can get back to the thread topic on hand.